South-west CFA volunteer hits out at Union

By Pat Mitchell

Country fire fighters boarded buses this morning bound for Melbourne to rally on the steps of Parliament. But one south west Victorian fire fighter says not everyone in the organisation is onboard the Union's fight against a $41 million cut to the CFA's budget.

Mr O'Keefe says the CFA can afford to lose a few layers of bureaucracy and has raised questions over the current training model.

"We believe it could be done cheaper, with the same outcome."

He said prior experience isn't taken into account.

"We've got a lot of people in the community that are volunteers and they've already got a lot of skills in different departments," Mr O'Keefe said.

Mr O'Keefe's views aren't shared by all volunteer fire fighters, with many joining their paid colleagues in Melbourne today.

"You'd probably find a few volunteers there supporting him and good luck to them," Mr O'Keefe said.

"But Peter (Marshall) is representing his members - his members have a vested interest in furthering their career opportunities."

He says today's rally isn't the first and it certainly won't be the last as the Government also prepares to overhaul the state fire services levy - the system that provides funding for Victoria's fire services.